There is no greater indication of the quiet revolution in the national game achieved by Fabio Capello, the England manager, than the news of an injury scare involving Emile Heskey being perceived as a bigger blow than the absence of John Terry for the World Cup qualifying tie against Kazakhstan tomorrow.

Partly this is owing to Kazakhstan's status - Fifa rank them above Singapore but not quite up there with Hong Kong - but largely it is down to the way Capello has quickly weaned the English game off its addiction to Michael Owen as the goalscoring saviour for every eventuality. Sensible managers do not speak of termination when assessing available player options - the unlikely resurrection of David Beckham's international career is proof of that - but while Owen may be seen again in an England shirt, never will he be regarded as the sole candidate if a match is to be won.

This is the biggest statement made by Capello's regime so far. His predecessor, Steve McClaren, regarded Owen's presence as essential and Sven-Göran Eriksson stuck by him through sustained runs of ordinary form. Even now the majority would have Owen as part of the group and, at the very least, it would have been easiest for Capello to have included him in the squad simply to avoid controversy and for his experience, as many suggested McClaren should have done with Beckham two years ago. This, however, is not his way. Capello has monitored Owen this season and prefers Jermain Defoe, for a variety of reasons.

The Italian thinks that Defoe is in better form and believes that he contributes more to team play than Owen. Also, to swap one player for another, two factors must be in place: the player dropping out must have performed poorly and the player coming in must have performed especially well. Capello does not think that Defoe has done enough wrong to be omitted, or that Owen has done enough right to be included.

All being well, England's strikers against Kazakhstan tomorrow will be Heskey and Wayne Rooney and it is the performance that Capello extracted from Rooney in Zagreb that will go down as one of the main achievements of his first year in the job. Having tried unsuccessfully to make Rooney his lone forward in the style of Luca Toni, of Italy, Capello switched him to his favourite position: second striker, played in the hole in support of a target man.

Under previous managers this has been Owen, which creates its own problems because his strength is not team play or the involvement of team-mates arriving from deep. The result is that the scoring record of the two as a partnership is poor, while Owen thrives when used with Heskey or Peter Crouch, who have a more conventional approach. This had led to a focus on Rooney as the root of the problem, not least for his scoring rate, with only two goals in competitive matches from June 21, 2004 to September 6, 2008.

Capello altered perspective by identifying Owen as the issue, by looking at his overall contribution, not only his goals, and concluding that a robust target man such as Heskey, the Wigan Athletic striker, would get more out of Rooney and also out of England's attacking midfield and wide players. In Croatia the manager revealed the potential of this plan against a strong team. Now he must be hoping Heskey remains fit, so the point can be driven home against weaker opposition.

Capello maintains that the biggest problem for the national team is a lack of confidence and will wish for a bravado display tomorrow in front of a Wembley crowd that will need convincing that the early promise can be maintained.

“The only previous time I played with Emile was about three years ago and I really enjoyed it,” Rooney said. “It was the same against Andorra and Croatia. Emile will hold the ball up and stay high up the pitch, which is good because it gives me space behind him to get on the ball. That is my best position. I get more of the ball there, which suits me because I don't like to be out of the game too long. Some forwards can stay up happily and not touch it, they just want to score, but that is not me.

“Carlos Tévez, at Manchester United, is a similar player, but now we have Dimitar Berbatov and he will play as Emile does. Maybe having that continuity will make a difference, too. I thought my second half against Croatia was the best I have played for England. I knew the position, I was prepared, I had my mind set.

“When I first started at Everton, we didn't have as much possession of the ball, so when I got it the first thought was to try to do something quick. It was instinctive. At Manchester United, and with England, we get more possession, so you are always thinking about where you're going to run, where you're going to play it. The key is still moving it quick.”

Heskey's presence has been a constant in the best England victories of the past decade - 4-1 in Croatia and 5-1 against Germany in Munich under Eriksson in 2001 - but his self-effacing observations on the subject reflect the selfless nature of his play. “People pick on those two games, but there were others when the team did really well without me, or Peter Crouch played and was good,” Heskey said.

Crouch would be the replacement if Heskey's back trouble resurfaces, which is fair on form, but he is yet to put in an England performance of the calibre of Heskey's in Zagreb. Previously, Eriksson had used Heskey as Owen's workhorse, tirelessly running the channels, often to little purpose, and McClaren saw him as a conformist partner to a goalscorer, but Capello is brighter than that. He has harnessed Heskey's experience (he will be 31 in January) and his relish for the physical challenge to bring the best out of players operating from deep positions. He was England's battering ram in Zagreb, but with the wit to bring Rooney and Theo Walcott into the action to devastating effect.

“I know where Wayne wants the ball and where he runs and I look to build my game around that,” Heskey said. “He is a fantastic talent, so my job is to get the best out of him. I don't know if I went out of fashion, but it feels nice to be wanted again.

“The game against Croatia was tailor-made for me because I like to put myself about. They had two big centre halves, so it was nice and physical. I don't mind that. When I was young I was really tense going into games, really nervous. I see it with some of the lads as we go on to the pitch now. I am more relaxed. It's not like any old game, but I focus my mind better.”

It is perhaps Capello's status as an outsider that has allowed him to recognise these strengths. Would an English-born manager have dispensed with Owen and hitched his wagon to a striking partnership that every statistical analyst would argue was a study in ineffectuality? A fresh eye on old problems is what English football needed. If Capello can do in other areas what he has done to England's front line, there may be hope for Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard yet.

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